UK government awards £33m to 33 green marine projects

The UK government has awarded £33m (US$41m) in funding to 33 projects across the UK to deliver demonstrations, factory trials and feasibility studies for green technologies for ports and ships.

The funding comes from the fourth round of the government’s Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC4), which focuses on developing a range of clean maritime technologies including electric, hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, wind power and more.

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is involved in two of the projects awarded funding; one feasibility project and one demonstration project. The feasibility project is being led by manufacturer Catagen (top), along with project partners EMEC, Orkney Islands Council, Highland Fuels Limited and Belfast Harbour Commissioners. The project consists of a techno-economic feasibility study exploring the opportunity of bringing novel clean fuel production technology to market to help decarbonize the UK’s maritime activities.

The demonstration project is being led by Apollo, which is gearing up to trial an offshore charging system at EMEC’s Scapa Flow test site in Orkney. As the offshore wind pushes into deeper waters and the supporting fleet strives to decarbonize, limitations are encountered in the charging capacity of electrically powered marine vessels (marine EVs) that seek to support construction and operations.

Apollo’s solution, the PALM Charger, is based on the company’s Pull And Lock Marine (PALM) connection system and aims to enable a vessel to connect to an offshore-mounted charging point to extend the range of marine EVs. The CMDC project will include a 14-day offshore deployment of a test rig onto a moored platform at EMEC’s test site.

EMEC will plan and lead the testing operations, working with Leask Marine to set up a test rig and undertake vessel connection and disconnection operations in a range of sea states to demonstrate the mechanical and electrical connection systems in an offshore environment. This is expected to help build an understanding of the vessel handling operations to refine the commercial design of the system. As a marine contractor, Leask Marine represents a group of potential future customers, informing the marine operational practicalities and market interest.

The UK government announced and in the UK’s maritime sector, as part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition’s fourth round of funding, in July 2023. Read the full story here.